Joy Unleashed: The Story of Bella, the Unlikely Therapy Dog

In 2007, Mary Eldergill, a volunteer member of Amigos de Los Animales (Friends of the Animals), discovered a group of newborn puppies on Dead Dog Beach in Puerto Rico. Mary rescued and rehabilitated them and, three months later, they flew to Newark, New Jersey, to be placed in their forever homes.

Jean Baur and her husband adopted one of Mary’s rescues—a dog named Bella—and opened her Pennsylvania home to her new best friend. Just as Jean enrolled Bella in certified therapy-dog classes, she ...